


My Adlock Meta

by Francesca_Wayland



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Adlock, F/M, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:14:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 18,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27274003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Francesca_Wayland/pseuds/Francesca_Wayland
Summary: Through the years I've written some short and long form meta about Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes, and I thought I'd consolidate them into one place - here! Each chapter constitutes a different meta or headcanon I've posted on Tumblr.
Relationships: Irene Adler/Sherlock Holmes
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	1. "Why do you ship Adlock?" Version I

I think that their dynamic is the main reason I’m so drawn to this pairing. It’s pure provocation, but based on intellectual parity and mutual instigation/challenge rather than simply the physical, which I find inherently sexy myself (“Smart is the new sexy,” indeed – or as I would contend: has always been ‘the sexy’). But it’s more than that… Because the characters are so complex in their motivations, it’s a joy as a viewer and writer to parse through various scenes and try to interpret all the (delicious) subtext.

And I agree that for Sherlock to abandon his previous moratorium on sex it would be because something (or a set of conditions) had completely overwhelmed him or manipulated him, which would certainly qualify a ‘loss’. However, I think that by the time things had progressed to such a far point, his usual value judgments would also be compromised. So while he might acknowledge that loss on a certain cerebral level, he would be operating with altered and probably disoriented motivations, and in the pivotal climactic moment (in terms of repartee and/or adventure, not sexually—yet) he would probably decide that he didn’t really care if he were losing. He does have a reckless and impulsive streak, after all.

Of course, there’s quite a gap between Sherlock meeting and engaging with someone as intelligent as him, and being overwhelmed and [romantically/sexually/sentimentally] excited by that interaction, and I think that’s where Irene’s assertiveness, playfulness, and as you said, _combativeness_ , come into play. As we know, she’s a master manipulator, and knows just what it will take to push Sherlock until he feels overwhelmed, and is therefore rather more malleable.

And while she may have initially manipulated him in order to push forward her agenda, I think that later (post-Karachi in my head canon), though she might still intentionally manipulate him, she does so for personal, non-cynical reasons… I think she’s just as thrilled to find someone who can challenge her as he is, him.


	2. "Why do you ship Adlock?" Version II

I was completely captivated by their dynamic as I watched A Scandal in Belgravia, and as soon as the credits rolled, I was hooked. At first I wasn’t even sure what I found so compelling and sexy—just that I really, really did—but since then I’ve had time to consider what so attracts me to Adlock. And I didn’t mean to do this, but this sort of turned meta-ish… And long. Really long.

*Deep breath* All right, let’s start with the characters as individuals, since I also love them independent of one another:

I think it goes without saying that we all love the character of Sherlock, and Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Sherlock. What I especially appreciate about it is the way that he doesn’t shy away from portraying Sherlock’s faults. He can be brusque, aloof, detached, and rude, and yet we get the impression (particularly from The Blind Banker) that in the past his ‘otherness’ has resulted in a lot of pain and isolation. Some of his arrogance and show-off tendencies, though valid, could be overcompensation for that. With most other people, this serves as both a shield and a wedge, but as we learn when Irene Adler arrives on the scene, that front is not impervious… I wonder if Sherlock had ever stuttered before in his life, or at least as an adult?

Irene Adler is similarly, fantastically, flawed. Much of this has to do with Lara Pulver’s performance as well. She imbues what could’ve been an unsympathetic character with nuances of both pride and vulnerability. She is complex in her motivations and objectives, and I get the impression that although she does intend to proceed with her original plot, her flippant and smug hubris in the final confrontation scene is a front for her internal conflict and ambivalence. I can’t help but wonder what she’d have done if her past decisions and the high stakes they established hadn’t forced her to remain committed to the plan.*

All right, now let’s look at these two wonderful characters together…

They have both lived all of their lives thinking that they’re unique in the world, and the best at what they do. They also find understanding and subsequently manipulating others quite easy (though in different ways, which I’ll come to). When they meet each other, they realise that they’re not necessarily as alone or singular as they’d believed, but rather than this being a disappointment to either of them, there is recognition and appreciation between them. Unlike the understanding Sherlock comes to share with Jim Moriarty, it manifests as attraction and intrigue on both sides.

Yes, there is combativeness, an element of competition, and banter, but for the vast majority of the episode these exchanges are within the context of attraction and perhaps even a certain mutually-understood potential. And because of that, it’s incredibly appealing to me. They are able to engage with one another on a level that they never get to experience, and they obviously enjoy it, and each other, immensely.

That’s why I believe Sherlock’s expression betrays so much (barely) suppressed hurt and anger after he cracks her code. From his perspective, her passcode confirms to him that she really did have feelings for him, and yet she chooses to disregard them to pursue her own independent ventures. It’s a bit ironic, because even as he’s admonishing her to not allow her heart to rule her head, he’s furious with her and hurt that she intended to do just that, despite what they shared.

Worse on an emotional level was the fact that her plan was coordinated with Sherlock’s greatest adversary—and the one person who could actually make him feel threatened or even inadequate for Irene’s attention. Irene adds insult to injury by saying Jim is “her kind of man.” And worse on a cerebral level, Sherlock was oblivious to that connection until she overtly stated it, and so he’s furious with himself for his oversight. I presume he blames his sentiment for clouding his judgment on that matter.

So I think that he’s actually doing a fair bit of projecting when he says that one should never let one’s heart control one’s head, and that sentiment is for the losing side. He’s obviously feeling as though he himself is losing. When he tells her one should never let one’s heart rule over one’s head, he also might be trying to chastise himself out of his hurt caused by her apparent rejection. So while he seems to win, he actually loses a lot more; he loses an equality-based connection with someone who is neither his brother nor his self-appointed nemesis. And seeing those cracks in the facade of antipathy is pretty poignant. Even while he’s being horrible in that moment, his motivation is understandable and he is hugely sympathetic. (Oh, the angst!)

It’s also interesting to note the ways in which they each ‘lose’ to one another in that scene. The basis of Irene’s loss is mostly professional with a bit of the personal mixed in, while Sherlock’s loss is much more personal with a bit of the professional added. This could be symbolic of the way they are ‘losing’ themselves to one another (a much different, much more positive definition of ‘losing’ in this case!), since ‘work’ is one of Sherlock’s defining and driving characteristics, and ‘emotion’ is Irene’s. It is a metaphorical yin and yang, a figure I find pretty appropriate for this pairing.

Irene’s ability to ‘get to’ Sherlock like that constitutes a huge part of why I ship them. We are so accustomed to seeing him as this aloof, untouchable, immovable man-god that I find her ability to do that incredibly compelling. It’s one of the many ways she challenges him to grow as a character, and I’ll explore that much more throughout this.

The fact that they’ve always thought of themselves as unique in the world has made them isolated and detached to a degree, and it’s fascinating to see how both of them have reacted and adapted to this, and how in turn, their very different coping methods interact. It’s both wonderfully complementary and creates opportunity for growth on both sides.

First of all, the distinct ways in which they’ve each handled their otherness/superiority have resulted in dissimilar life experiences and differing strengths, so although they are fundamentally similar, they are also complementary in their differences. In the canon story A Study In Scarlet, John compiles a list of Sherlock’s strengths and ‘limits.’ His weaknesses include literature, philosophy, and politics, all at of which I can imagine Irene Adler excels.** I think we can safely say we know she excels at politics, whether it’s the government-related kind, or interpersonal.

Secondly, because of their differing coping mechanisms and strengths, there are disparities in life experience, particularly for Sherlock in comparison with Irene. This leads to an interesting dynamic of Sherlock not necessarily being the one who is in control, or the expert, and I quite enjoy imagining him at such an unusual and unfamiliar disadvantage. That’s a lot of fun to think about and explore in headcanons and fanfic, since so frequently he is ten steps or more ahead of everyone around him and us as viewers (particularly in The Reichenbach Fall).

Of course, all these new experiences and discoveries lead to significant character growth, which is fascinating to watch. The fact that Sherlock forgoes his previous stance on sentiment and overcomes his wounded ego in order to travel halfway across the world and risk his life for Irene, especially after everything that had last passed between them, is profound. I really don’t think one can make a gesture much grander than that.

And that’s just the start—the initial growth that gets the character development ball rolling throughout Series 2.

I think that his experience with Irene provokes a turning point in Sherlock’s emotional development, which in turn leads to him to state that John is his friend in the following episode Hounds of Baskerville, decide to sacrifice so much for the sake of his friends in Reichenbach Fall, and admit to Molly that she counts and he needs her. All of that is really significant.

If we knew the character of Irene better and could see where she is now, we’d probably see parallel yet complementary growth on her part as well, which is another fun thing to imagine, and potentially explore in fanfic. I expect she would be left as affected by Sherlock as he is left by her, though in her own way.

The way that the characters themselves obviously view the other person as an exception (both personally and compared to society at large) is probably the central reason I ship them so much. It’s not left up to the interpretation of us viewers; Irene and Sherlock see it, as do those around them, such as John, Mycroft (at least on Sherlock’s side), and to a lesser and indirect degree, Molly. And both Irene and Sherlock have such staggering egos that it’s quite an endorsement that they recognise that someone else is on their own level. Everything else I’ve outlined so far ultimately speaks to that recognition and connection, and in my opinion everything about the A Scandal in Belgravia episode—from the script to costuming, styling, direction, and cinematography—supports that as well. As one example, take the fact Sherlock never texted Irene back until he wished her a happy new year, which wasn’t even a response to anything she said. According to John, that’s unheard-of. I do take that to mean that she is special, because he was feeling out of his depth and uncertain how to respond. I think he felt nervous about the prospect of texting her, and about everything that could potentially follow if he took that first step. I think he was uncharacteristically daunted by that prospect, which of course touches back on Sherlock struggling with something new and unknown, and growing up enormously as a result of that challenge.

And finally, there’s the fact their interaction changed the way I viewed Sherlock. Their chemistry caused me to reevaluate my assumption from Series 1 that he was asexual, and I suddenly saw more than the brain, and noticed that contrary to my original assessment based on seeing posters around the tube and whatnot, he was actually a very, very attractive man, sexy even. So that was a sort of exciting personal discovery that makes this pairing special for me as well.

*Although obviously I ship the HELL out of them, I do have to wonder: if there had been no adverse affects to her abandoning her plan, would her sentiment for Sherlock have been enough to entice her away from it? After all, it did represent permanent financial security, protection, and (possibly the main impetus?), an exit from the game she’s been playing for, I assume, years. It would certainly constitute a ‘win’ in its own right—a culmination of the long game she’s been playing with all of the powerful in society, not just Sherlock. We’ll never know, of course, but I do wonder…

**Thanks to the wonderful solojones for first pointing out the observation than Irene Adler excels where ACD states Sherlock is weaker! It’s a brilliant insight.


	3. "Why do you ship Adlock?" Version III

**Anonymous asked you: Have you ever wondered why your OTP is Adlock but not Johnlock? Just want to stop by to say I love you and all your work, especially NASNAG and Sui Generis (Speaking of it, can’t wait for your next chapter!). Have a nice day! :)**

First of all, thanks so much - I really appreciate that! And I hope to have a new chapter up for you soon.

Secondly Anon, that is a potentially inciting question!

But no, I have not ever wondered that.

I don’t think of it as a cognitive choice that I made; a ‘this’ versus ‘that.’ Johnlock is a perfectly lovely ship and I’m happy for people to ship whatever it is they like, and while I was charmed by their relationship and it’s one of the main reasons I continued to watch the show, a romantic (particularly a sexually romantic) element didn’t really occur to me. But I don’t feel that either interpretation of his and John’s relationship—romantic _or_ platonic—strengthens or undermines the importance of their intimacy and connection over the other. I think that both romantic love and platonic love have the capacity to be life-changing and essential, and that regardless of interpretation, Irene Adler was correct when she called them a couple.

Speaking of Irene… During the first series I just read Sherlock as asexual (another reason I didn’t pick up on any Johnlock, probably), and the only thing I shipped him with was his work. But from the moment Irene Adler came onscreen, and seemed to awaken something in Sherlock that we’d never seen before, I was hooked. I could write an essay on all the reasons I’ve since pinpointed on why I ship them so much (and in fact, I might) but in those 90 minutes all I knew was that this was new, and very different, and exciting, and I was really into it—and them. I went from zero to shipping them die-hard and I started looking for and then writing fanfic that same night. So it was never a choice for me. It was never a ‘what makes more sense to me – Johnlock or Adlock? Let me weight the evidence on each side and come to a conclusion.’ It was an unconscious decision and I’ve never questioned it.

I actually find your question itself quite interesting, especially the way it’s phrased. I don’t mean to pick on you anon, not at all, but the way it’s worded is indicative of certain dynamics within the Tumblr Sherlock fandom.

Firstly, yes, Johnlock _is_ the most prevalent ship, but that doesn’t make it inherently more legitimate, or the marker against which all other ships should be measured. You’d probably have never asked me if I wonder why I ship Adlock instead of Sheriarty, or instead of Molrene, for example. But I ship Adlock on its own merits and in and of itself, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with any other ships.

Secondly… I mentioned that for me there is no sense of opposition—Adlock versus Johnlock (or any other pairing). One could very easily ship both within the same universe, even, and I’ve read some great fanfics where that does happen. We’re all part of the same Sherlock fandom, and it seems petty to quibble about which pairings are more valid, because _none_ of them is actual canon, and almost definitely never will be. Yet for a certain vocal minority (who have unfortunately permeated the fandom as a whole), there is outward aggression towards those who ship anything other that the pairing they prefer. It’s almost as if these people view their personal ship the way others might view their political party affiliation, with all the attendant pathos, moral judgments, and polarity that that implies. _Every_ _single ship_ has someone/people like this, but since Johnlock is proportionally the largest, that might at least partially explain why many people who do this seem to identify as Johnlock shippers. Perhaps the fact that it _is_ the largest and most prevalent ship facilitates and affirms a sense of entitlement/arrogance with these particular, few, individuals, I don’t know. And while I will call out misogyny or blatant female erasure when I see it, I don’t consider those things inherent to male slash shipping and therefore a cause to judge the Johnlock ship; they are separate (though yes, sometimes related) issues in my mind.

 **TL;DR:** No, I’ve never wondered why I ship one thing over the other because Adlock rests on its own merits for me, and I’ve never considered the ships to be in competition—with each other, or for my selection. Some enjoy Adlock, some Sherlolly, some Sheriarty, some Johnlock, and every combination or permutation in between, and “it’s all fine.” But just because more people like Johnlock doesn’t make it any more legitimate than any other ship, or mean that I would second-guess my preferred pairing.

(Again, Anon, I’m not picking on you at all – I’m just discussing the dynamics within the fandom that your question and its phrasing raised with me. Anyway, it was very interesting to answer, so thank you!)


	4. In Defense of Irene Adler

I’ve frequently seen charges of misogyny directed at Steven Moffat for how Irene Adler is depicted in the Sherlock episode A Scandal In Belgravia, as well as the claim that she’s regressed as a character since the Victorian-era canon story A Scandal In Bohemia. They point to her initial appearance in the nude, the magical penis trope (in which a lesbian turns straight when she meets the ‘right’ man), that she has been made a dominatrix, she was working ‘for’ Moriarty, she’s calculating and has selfish as opposed to altruistic motives, and that she is ultimately beaten because she lets her (‘typical female’) emotions get the best of her. They also state that Moffat reduces her to a damsel in distress in the end, who needs Sherlock to save her life.

I’ll be honest: I’ve spent a little over two years loving this character and considering her actions and motives, and so by this point I’m not sure whether I’m looking deeper than people who just dismiss her character for the above reasons, or I’ve devised explanations that let Moffat off the hook for misogyny because I think Irene is such a badass. But let me give my perspectives on each of the above complaints.

\- The fact that she shows up to their initial meeting naked. People seem to be upset that the original Irene bested Sherlock without ‘resorting’ to this sort of extreme, and accuse Moffat of using her to pander to the male gaze. I think this is a bit simplistic and detracts from Lara Pulver’s excellent performance. In that scene Irene Adler is in full control—she even asks John if he’s feeling exposed, because she is using her body as a very deliberate tool; she is not some passive vessel for the male gaze. In fact, her nudity is not even particularly sexual. It’s a calculated way to fluster Sherlock by completely confounding his expectations, and depriving him of data. Essentially she is pre-emptively beating him at his own game, which she is able to do because she did just as much due diligence on Sherlock as he did on her (more, I’d wager). She has come to understand how he operates, and she uses this knowledge to her advantage in order to gain the upper hand from the start. This scene is all about showing how much the character has full agency and is willing to use any tools at her disposal, and how much she understands Sherlock and can match and even best him. To diminish it by saying that it’s just gratuitous nudity for the sake of male consumption is inaccurate and actually harmful because it’s so reductive. (And on a very minor note, she’s in her own home for God’s sake.)

\- The magical penis trope. A lot of people dislike that Irene self-identifies as gay (sort of…), and then turns around and falls for Sherlock, not just intellectually but physically, since he notes all her signs of attraction. I can see why people would be frustrated—gay characters, especially gay female characters—don’t get nearly enough representation. However, I think it’s meant as an illustration of how they are each the other’s exceptions in that way. Sherlock subverts his sexuality into his work, and Irene isn’t usually interested in men. There are so many points in the episode which deliberately and directly show them as reflections of one another (cinematography, story-line, costuming and hair styling), and I think that this is another way the writers emphasize that. On a lesser and more pedantic note, the term ‘gay’ can cover an array of queer orientations, and it is noted earlier in the episode that she ended the marriage of a prominent novelist by having an affair with both participants. Since England didn’t have marriage equality at the time, I think we can assume that the marriage consisted of a man and a woman. And to take it further, I wouldn’t use the term ‘affair’ to describe any arrangement a dominatrix has with a client. ‘Affair’ insinuates a more personal and sexual relationship, which would suggest that she’s bisexual or at least occasionally becomes involved with men.

\- The fact that she’s a dominatrix. I think this point is the best mirror for determining if someone is projecting his/her own internalized misogyny onto the character of Irene Adler. People will call her all sorts of gender-based slurs like a slut, hooker, or whore and use such labels to dismiss or belittle the character’s worth, whilst bemoaning the fact that Moffat is so sexist for making depicting her that way. So ironic. The fact is, I think making her a dominatrix was a brilliant update. In the original story she has a slightly questionable reputation, which makes the fact that Holmes comes to respect and admire her far more than he does the king much more meaningful. She is an ‘adventuress,’ a term which at the time did have certain implications. It could be used as a euphemism for courtesan, but it wasn’t so vulgar as to suggest anything like a common prostitute.   
Back to modern day, being a dominatrix is a type of sex work, but as a rule there is no actual intercourse involved. It has much more to do with exploring power dynamics and giving people a safe place to discover and push their personal boundaries, and having Irene in a profession that allows her to read and manipulate people is a fantastic parallel to the way Sherlock can read situations and crime scenes. Just like the canon character, BBC Irene is on the fringes of society but she’s not a ‘fallen woman,’ and she uses her sexuality in an empowering way and to improve her station in life. And also just like in the original, Sherlock looks past conventional morés and becomes captivated by her intelligence and savvy. So when people ‘slut shame’ Irene, I feel that they’re using it as an easy, crude crutch to deride her character, and it says far more about them than Moffat. (Note: this is not to say that all people who are upset or disappointed that she’s a dominatrix are guilty of slut-shaming, but it is what I see most often).

\- That she was working ‘for’ Moriarty. I feel like this is a misconception. She approached Moriarty so that he could help her. His quid pro quo for consulting was to have the MOD code in her posession cracked. Everything she did was not in service of Moriarty, but a means to secure her ends. He was just another tool for her to use to get that. And some people might not like that either, but it does bring me to:

\- She was calculating and had selfish as opposed to altruistic motives. Yes. And I love that about her! I think it’s a great twist on the character. Her motives weren’t discovered to be noble; she wasn’t just attempting to be married without hassle and be made an ‘honest woman’ - she was unapologetically pursuing her own, individual agenda, and I think that’s fascinating and compelling. Why does a woman have to meet some set of moral standards to earn our approval? How boring. Why can’t she just be complex and human, as we so frequently allow male characters to be (and love them for it)? She’s conflicted, and inhabits the moral gray area, and it’s fantastic. What’s even more incredible is that the episode shows that despite the fact that she’s so flawed, despite what she did, Sherlock still appreciates her and still feels enough sentiment to risk his life for her. She is depicted as being admirable despite these moral ‘shortcomings,’ because she has other qualities - cunning, audaciousness, intellect - that give her worth.

\- The fact that Sherlock was able to undermine Irene’s plan by exploiting her feelings for him. I think that for me, this is the one potentially problematic issue with the character – not that she has fallen for Sherlock in and of itself, but that it directly contributes to the failure of her plans. In that moment he has beaten her, and in this case the fact that she has developed feelings for him is explicitly stated to be a weakness. I don’t like how it contributes to the concept that a woman who has romantic feelings towards someone else is in any way weak (See: Molly Hooper below).   
BUT. The story is not over. And what people think is the coup de grace of Sherlock beating her (his rescue of her) I see as the reverse: her ultimate victory.

\- The rescue. People are most upset about this, because they claim that she has been reduced to a damsel in distress, while she was the clear victor in the original story.   
I disagree: I think that this brings the narrative of A Scandal in Belgravia a full circle, and further illustrates how these two are counterparts. In the beginning, Irene’s phonecall to Moriarty probably saves Sherlock and John’s lives. At the end, Sherlock intervenes to save her life. But there’s more to it than that, and it’s to do with sentiment. The very thing that brought Irene down at first is what ends up saving her life, because the only reason Sherlock would fly half way across the world, infiltrate a terrorist cell, risk his life, and possibly kill for her, is due to sentiment of some kind. They are reflections of each other in all but one, complementary way: he is the brain and she is the heart, and the heart won in the end. She got to him in a way that no other person had, and if she hadn’t managed that, she would’ve died. She secured her own rescue, through Sherlock.  
Remember when she says: “I like to know the people will be on my side exactly when I need them” to be? Yeah. As Moffat says, “That moment when Sherlock says “when I say run, run", Irene’s reaction just says it all. That smile… That’s it. She’s like ‘I got him.” She won.’” [SDCC 2015 panel]

So Moffat isn’t entirely blameless in this portrayal, but I think that the amount of criticism he gets regarding Irene Adler is unfair to him, and unfair to the character herself. Many of the complaints I see are projections of individuals’ problems with and judgment of someone involved in any type of sex work, or - in my opinion - they stem from a lack of more in-depth analysis of the narrative structure of the story and the parallels between Sherlock and Irene.

I would be more prepared to accept that I’m giving too much credit to Moffat by creating headcanons which ‘compensate’ for problematic issues (and this still might be the case to some degree), except that I see the way the fandom treats other female characters, as well:

\- “Molly is pathetic doormat and needs to get over Sherlock.”   
….Oh except that when Sherlock is supposedly ‘yearning’ for John then it’s poignant and tragic. Also, Molly stands up to Sherlock all the time, and he takes her criticisms seriously and actually apologizes to her. He clearly trusts her and cares for her a great deal.

\- “Donovan is a fucking bitch.”   
…Who was just doing her job as she’s supposed to, and has every reason to dislike the entitled civilian who swans around crime scenes and ignores every protocol.

\- “Mary is so evil, I hate her.” …Oh, but Moriarty is a fan favorite despite the fact that he blew up an entire block of flats in his ‘game’ with Sherlock, and then tried to coerce Sherlock into committing suicide.

You see my point! So in conclusion not all, but many, of the problems I see with women characters in the fandom stem from the way the audience filters the content, as opposed to from the original content itself.

And Irene is a BAMF.

[Post originally inspired by this question.]


	5. "How do you write Sherlock as a character?"

**Anon asked, "How do you write sherlock as a character?"**  
  


**[A/N: People who read Sui Generis might find a few things familiar here!]**

Usually I express my thoughts on characters through fanfic instead of meta, but let me see if I can tackle this question! And apologies that this took a while to post; I wrote out the bulk of it last week but I’ve been adding bits for the last few days as new things occur.

It’s my opinion that Sherlock’s childhood relationship with Mycroft plays the greatest role in shaping him into the adult we see by _A Study in Pink_. I think that Sherlock hero-worshipped his older brother from a very young age, and wanted to grow up to be just like him. And due to the admiration he had for Mycroft, he was also invested in proving to Mycroft that he wasn’t “stupid.”

As he grew up Sherlock would’ve come to learn that despite not being stupid compared with other children, things that Mycroft could do without effort were still far more challenging for him. But that only would have caused him to be more ruthless towards himself, and push himself harder. Mycroft, being Mycroft, would’ve only encouraged and condoned this. He’d have consistently reinforced through both example and overt statement a hierarchy of traits—cool, sharp intelligence ranked first, and any type of emotion ranked last. 

And while Sherlock had—and _has_ —strengths and abilities that his brother lacked, he wouldn’t have seen value in them because if they did fit anywhere into Mycroft’s hierarchy, they would’ve been placed at the bottom. (The fact that Sherlock probably also felt that these things were only responsible for negative feelings and the distraction from his priorities they caused would’ve only reinforced Mycroft’s ideology. Which brings me to…)

In school I think Sherlock would’ve been really torn between his conviction that he was superior to his peers in almost every way that mattered, and the desperate desire for them to (if not acknowledge that, then at least) accept him. I think he’d have tried to find ways to reach out but he wouldn’t have known how to connect with the average kid, since his only previous experience with people around his age had been Mycroft. So I think that he would’ve been in turns rejected, mocked, and exploited, but never accepted—never anyone’s ‘friend’. This would’ve caused him to feel simultaneously lonely and bitter, and I think that as a coping mechanism he would’ve clung to the thought that he was far better off without them, anyway. He eventually might’ve become withdrawn, sullen, caustic, and scathing, but there would’ve always remained a palpable vulnerability beneath; a sliver of him would’ve always hoped that someone would see and understand him.

(Fast-forwarding into the present for a moment, I feel that the persona of suave superiority he exudes as “Sherlock Holmes” is an evolution of the fronts he put up as a teenager and younger man. It’s less reactive and more purposeful, but it’s still somewhat of a mask and to some extent he hides behind it. I also think that as he got older he would’ve learned how to harness his looks and craft an identity that could be very charismatic—and manipulative. When he stopped believing that people would ever want to, or could, relate to him as they did with one another, his interest in others would’ve shifted into how they could be of value to his given agenda. [Yet it should go without saying that I’ve never believed that he’s an actual sociopath, because I feel like this shift was an exogenous rather than endogenous occurrence—plus I think he retained a _tiny_ bit of hope always.] However I _do_ think that through the years the demeanor has become more a part of him, and I have no doubt that he is more hardened as an adult than he was when he was very young. I still read him as still being capable of altruism and compassion, and he has found an outlet for those things in his occupation, but they are within the ‘legitimate’ framework of the cerebral work he does. To himself and to others he presents the allure of the work as being the excitement of the puzzle—any good it achieves is an irrelevant by-product. I think that in large part he believes that, but as Mycroft asks, “My brother has the mind of a scientist or philosopher, yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?” I feel that Sherlock can still be remarkably sensitive, at least with those very few people to whom he’s shown the man beyond the persona.)

In contrast, I feel that Mycroft would’ve been impervious to the opinions of his classmates in his youth, and that his aloof, cold nature would’ve granted him certain social cachet akin to wary respect. Therefore another reason Sherlock would’ve been so keen on emulating his brother was so that he too, could become impervious, and his peers’ rejection and mockery wouldn’t pain him so much. 

To that end, as a child and adolescent Sherlock would’ve constantly honed and improved those skills he deemed as having merit whilst ignoring or outright suppressing those he felt detracted from that effort. As he got older there would’ve grown to be not just a hierarchy of traits, but a _dichotomy_ between the head and heart—with those two things set up in direct opposition. Unfortunately, since he would’ve felt that many of his traits and tendencies were ‘negative,’ I think that he would’ve internalized a lot of self-loathing for his inability to rid himself of them. He probably felt that they were the things standing in the way of achieving Mycroft’s brilliance and self-assurance, but they were the very things he couldn’t train or discipline himself into changing.

So he couldn’t replicate, he could only imitate, and remnants of that persist (although to a lesser degree in later series). I see this in particular when Sherlock says things like “Sentiment is a chemical defect found on the losing side,” and “Will caring about them help save them? … Then I’ll continue to not make that mistake,” and “Heroes don’t exist.” I don’t buy that these statements are _organically_ his, though I do think that in those moments he 100% believes them. Rather I feel like he’s quoting back things his older brother has said to him, perhaps even verbatim in some cases. For example, I can picture the ‘heroes’ line being said with derision to a Sherlock who was playing at being a dashing pirate as a child. However I do think that the added “and if they did, I wouldn’t be one of them” is 100% Sherlock speaking.

At one point in Sherlock’s twenties I believe he would’ve experienced a personal crisis over the realization that it didn’t matter how rigorously he exercised his mind or how mercilessly he denied himself things in pursuit of intellectual excellence, he could never be the effortlessly cerebral machine his brother was. The imitation he had become could no longer cut it. This understanding might’ve been set off by a series of small things, or one large event, or his growing dissatisfaction over not having found a calling as his brother had. 

Whatever the trigger, I imagine that his self-loathing and dissatisfaction would’ve come to a head at some time post-uni, but by that point it would’ve also seemed impossible for him to just accept some ‘mundane’ and conventional role such as researcher or academic. As a result he would’ve felt that he had no discernible place within society, and it would’ve lead to a serious loss of hope and ambition. There would’ve also been a lot of pain over the disillusionment that he could ever be like his brother or achieve purpose as Mycroft had—all because of Sherlock’s own intrinsic ‘flaws.’

Meanwhile Mycroft would’ve been fully aware of the situation and I think that his feelings on the matter would’ve shifted from impatience and contempt for Sherlock’s shortcomings (maybe he initially dismissed Sherlock’s existential crisis as nothing more than a ‘tantrum’) into alarm. But I think that the more he tried to act as a mentor and push Sherlock towards being the man he knew Sherlock wanted to be, the more Sherlock would’ve seen him as controlling, condescending, and maybe even smug in the security of his own position—and so the more Sherlock would’ve resented him. I think that Sherlock’s hostility towards Mycroft also masked the humiliation and shame he felt at his perceived failure—especially since Mycroft, the person whose approval he craved most, was witness to it. Regardless, Sherlock’s resentment towards Mycroft would’ve grown until it resulted in the brothers’ estrangement. And since Mycroft saw that the only way he had known how to help his brother had actually made matters worse, I think he would’ve felt his best option was to give him distance (whilst still discreetly monitoring him, of course).

Overwhelmed with feelings of intense inadequacy, failure, self-loathing, hopelessness, and despair, Sherlock would’ve turned to the numbing obliteration of drugs at this point. On top of all his other reasons, this would’ve _finally_ stopped him caring about other things; his primary relationship would’ve been with drugs and the high, and they would’ve monopolized all of his energy and concern.

As terrible and difficult as his struggle with drugs would’ve been, I think that it directly lead to his self-redemption. I headcanon that it was Sherlock’s drug-use which somehow brought him into contact with Lestrade – whether Sherlock were found in the presence of someone who had overdosed in a drug-den, or were witness to the hit of a dealer, or trespassed upon a crime scene whilst high, or one of any number of similar scenarios – and that this accidental encounter saved his life.

Finding potential in the custom-made profession of ‘Consulting Detective’ would’ve given Sherlock a hope for the future and for his life that he might’ve never felt before. As mentioned earlier, it would’ve introduced him to an occupation that allowed him to draw upon both native traits (such as compassion, perceptiveness, and empathy) and developed strengths (such as deductions and vast breadth of knowledge) alike. Still, he could justify to himself and project to others that the essential skills utilized by the job were those he still feels are fundamentally superior. The fact that he is ‘the only one in the world’ would’ve also appealed to his ego and sense of uniqueness, while the fact that it’s something for which his brother would have less aptitude couldn’t have hurt, either.

As he became more comfortable, confident, and content in his life I think that all the things he had suppressed for so long would’ve begun to resurface. And _also_ because of his contentment with his newfound purpose, he wouldn’t have been as rigorous suppressing those things as he was when he’d felt so precarious in both purpose and identity. This means that when John does express admiration for Sherlock and his work, Sherlock has recouped enough self-confidence not to dismiss the possibility of some sort of connection out of a knee-jerk reaction to protect himself. Of course it also helps that Sherlock senses that John might actually be amenable to building a friendship on terms that Sherlock can understand. These two things combined – a fulfilling profession and a true friend – lead to Sherlock’s gradual disengagement from the concept that that caring about people and doing the work are mutually-exclusive. (Though I do want to emphasize that at our current point of the character I think it’s merely a relaxation of this view, rather than the acceptance that these two things _can_ comfortably coexist).

Nonetheless I think that the years of being rejected, teased, and used by his peers would’ve instilled in him deep-seated wariness and trepidation, so that even when he does open himself up to having friends it’s still a very small and intimate circle of trust.* Not just John, but Lestrade, Molly, Mrs Hudson, and later Mary are able to accept the way he is able to connect with others, and moreover they can actually appreciate it. But just because the ways in which he forms bonds is unorthodox, doesn’t mean that he doesn’t deeply crave them, and I think that that the validation and friendship he finds with his friends, chiefly John, saves his life just as much as becoming a consulting detective did. (*Though I want to stress that I do also think he has genuine elements of arrogance, snobbery, and disagreeableness as well. I mean there are probably only so many times that all of the adults in a young person’s life can call him or her an incredibly special snowflake before the person comes to believe it. It’s not _just_ a persona, or walls he’s put up, or an emulation of Mycroft.)

His aforementioned sense of uniqueness would’ve been a double-edged sword. On one hand he would’ve derived a lot of pride from it and seen it as evidence of his superiority, which would’ve been a consoling, uplifting thought in light of all his social rejections. But on the other hand it would’ve caused him to feel great loneliness, even after he had gained a circle of friends. Bearing that in mind, I think that his interaction with Irene Adler in _ASiB_ prompted a lot of additional character development. Whereas John, Mrs Hudson, Lestrade, and Molly care for Sherlock (sometimes with necessary tough love) and his brother Mycroft relates to him on a cerebral level, in a Venn Diagram of these two circles Irene would populate the overlap. In an echo of the false dichotomy in Sherlock’s mind, the former group (very simply put) represents Sherlock’s emotional side, and the latter represents his cerebral side, but the character of Irene Adler is set up to represent and respond to the entirety of the character of Sherlock Holmes—including strengths and weaknesses alike.

Whether you think Sherlock was romantically and/or physically attracted to Irene or not is sort of moot in this context. The point is twofold. First, almost immediately after he first meets Irene I think he feels a thrill of recognition that he’d never experienced before. She illustrates to Sherlock that there are other people like him, which I think would’ve instantly alleviated an existential loneliness and fulfilled a sort of curiosity and yearning he’d had from a young age. Second and even more importantly, Sherlock sees that this person – rather than suppressing or being ashamed of her emotion-based traits and predilections – turns what Sherlock had always considered weakness into _strength_. She wields her emotional perceptiveness and ability to manipulate as weapons that are as potent as those things in Sherlock’s more cerebral arsenal, and this would have been a revelation for Sherlock. I think that a lot of the initial fascination he felt for her was almost entirely narcissistic. It was less about her as an individual and more about what the way she conducted her life and used her talents meant for him and his own life. Given how successful Irene is when Sherlock first encounters her, he would’ve re-evaluated everything he’d believed for his entire life; I don’t think it’s overstating things to say that this would’ve been paradigm-shifting.

So, when he breaks her code and admonishes her about sentiment it’s a devastating return to the status quo for Sherlock, and I think part of the anger he displays in that scene is due to his very personal investment in someone like him ‘winning’ thanks to those very things he’d always suppressed and resented in himself. Yet also at play was the fact that since it _was_ Sherlock’s susceptibility to emotion that made him so vulnerable to Irene and her manipulation, and that had only lead to pain, distraction, and his ultimate humiliation, Mycroft’s position on such matters is ‘proven.’ I’m firmly of the belief that Sherlock is directing the statement “Sentiment is a chemical defect found on the losing side” to himself just as much – if not _more_ – than he is to Irene. In this case he is losing just as much as she is, just in a less tangible way. _Perhaps_ emotions are acceptable when they are utilized in pursuit of a greater agenda, but certainly not for their own sake; in those cases they are nothing short of destructive just as his brother has always asserted.

And yet Sherlock does later ensure that Irene survives execution, at great personal risk. It’s a throwback to the adventurous, romantic, and _heroic_ concept of the pirate whom he aspired to be as a child—qualities he apparently retains as an adult, in spite of what he says or projects. To me this suggests that the encounter – despite swinging Sherlock between the extremes of emotional susceptibility and great callousness – eventually settles him on some sort of middle ground, which is still progress.

By Series Three we see Sherlock probing his elder brother about his emotional life, which I think sums up Sherlock’s character development nicely. Sherlock has taken enough ownership of his own feelings that he is confident broaching the subject with his elder brother—the one who has always been the uncontested arbiter of all things pertaining to emotions and their worth. (Also Sherlock uses a cerebral game to ensnare his brother into discussing emotions, which I think shows both literally and symbolically how he has become more capable of reconciling and balancing the two things.)

I think that this was able to transpire because Sherlock’s time away from London really drove home for him how much he depends upon the warmth and constancy of his friendships, and made him more self-aware. While he was dismantling the remnants of Moriarty’s network he would’ve been alone and his sole purpose would have been the mission. I think that he would’ve come to the realization that rather than this being some sort of Platonic Ideal for his life, it’s actually arduous and hollow without being able to share in his triumphs and trials. I think that the only thing that got him through some truly horrific experiences was the thought that once he concluded the work he would be able to return home, to his ‘real’ life. Sometime during his exile he would’ve realized that his definition of a meaningful life had expanded from ‘challenging and interesting work’ into something that encompassed a lot more.

I think he needed so badly for things to be as they had been—as he had so missed and imagined at his lowest points when he was gone—that he couldn’t even consider the possibility that they could be otherwise, hence the absurd denial to Mycroft that anything would have changed with John in his absence. This is an emotional rather than rational statement, and I find it very telling. Prior to knowing John or his other friends Sherlock had always been vaguely lonely, but it wasn’t until he’d had companionship and then was deprived of it that he understood how deep and terrible loneliness could really be. I think that this first-hand insight as well as his native compassion prompt him to bring up that conversation with his brother, which is a significant reversal of the fraternal dynamic. This time it’s Sherlock who is coming from the position of ‘wisdom’ and certainty, and Mycroft who is faltering and not entirely self-assured.

In conclusion I think that Sherlock Holmes is an exceptionally complex character who is capable of ignorance and selfishness as well as incredible acts of kindness and heroism. And while his relationship with his elder brother has had a great role in shaping who he is, we are seeing him come into his own—albeit through fits and starts. This doesn’t mean he’s becoming an objectively ‘better’ man, but I do think he is learning how to navigate through his life with greater agency and understanding of who he is, of what he is capable, and what he wants.


	6. "How would you write in Irene Adler again?"

**Anon asked, "Since you're for bringing Irene back in season 4, may I ask how you think they may (or how you would) write her in? Keeping in mind that Adlock is not definitively canon (even though the actors ship it YAY) so Sui Generis and Full Disclosures are unfortunately off the table."**

If we weren’t bypassing Series 3, I’d answer that she would be a valuable source for Sherlock in his mission to dismantle Moriarty’s network. I think this would be fairly plausible in the context of _BBC Sherlock_ , given who this Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler are as characters (though we’d never actually see it unfold on screen). But in that scenario, I imagine that he would seek her out and try to get as much practical data from her as he could: on the way Moriarty managed his business, how the structure and hierarchy of his network functioned, who the key players were, how he kept those underbosses in line, how the entire organisation was funded, and other details. Of course, in my headcanon of this the only way he would get her to cooperate is if he framed it as a quid pro quo for saving her life in Karachi, and even then I think she would make him really work for it (which he would find somewhat frustrating and yet enjoy, despite himself). I think she would also make additional stipulations, so that she could leverage the situation to benefit her in some way. They would haggle over the details before finally coming to an arrangement that favored her more. Sherlock would slightly begrudge her her victory, but go along with it because her knowledge would be critical to his work. Several great fics imagine Sherlock seeking out Irene for intelligence on Moriarty—[ _What He Likes_](https://archiveofourown.org/series/21151) being the one that immediately comes to mind, although there are definitely others as well. And in [_Sui Generis_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/653578?view_full_work=true) he wants to do that, but can’t divert energy and assets away from tracking Moriarty’s agents, to locate her. Anyway, I’m hoping that although she won’t make an _actual_ appearance in the 3rd series, they’ll at least make a reference to her in some way, particularly in that capacity. I don’t think Sherlock would ever name her specifically, but it would be amazing if it were insinuated somehow.

But since we _are_ bypassing Series 3 and skipping to Series 4….

Holding off on specific plot points for now, from a creative perspective I think it would be interesting to use her reappearance as an opportunity to compare/contrast Series 4’s Sherlock and his relationship with “caring” with his character in _A Scandal In Belgravia_. I think the way he relates to “The Woman” would reveal a lot about his evolution as a compassionate person. That being said, I **very much would not want** her role to exist _simply_ to show how much progress Sherlock has made towards being that “good man” Lestrade had hoped for. I’d want to see that symmetry between the two of them that was shown so beautifully in ASiB, so that Sherlock illuminates just as much of her character’s development, as hers does his. That will be tricky, though, because I also don’t want to see her “improved” in any sort of conventional way. She doesn’t have to be the _exact_ same character—that would be static—but I want to at least see evidence that she managed to thrive again despite the events of ASiB, due to her personal determination, intelligence, and audacity.

Now onto plot, since it wouldn’t be enough to just echo ASiB in theme—there has to be some meaty plot involved as well!

What I liked about the ‘consultant spy’ concept I referenced in [_Full Disclosures_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/455920) and [_Ave Verum_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/653595) (but which was first imagined and suggested to me by the brilliant [IreneSelina](http://ireneselina.tumblr.com/)) is that it somewhat evolves her character while retaining her essential traits. In my version of events Irene Adler is actually the one to engineer the deal, even if Mycroft believes the credit is his. In that role she’d be able to use her prodigious skill at manipulation and insight into people’s characters and motivations, but in service (at least ostensibly) of a “greater social good.” But I think that for her, like Sherlock as we’ve seen him so far, any social good she achieved would be merely incidental and irrelevant; she would have her own reasons for devising the deal and becoming a consultant spy. Firstly, it would be the means by which she could return to London and regain an approximation of her former independence. Secondly, it would be a state-sanctioned way for her to continue what she had most enjoyed and at which she most excelled: manipulating people, discovering weak spots and exploiting them for her own gain, and wielding personal power and charisma to get whatever it was she wanted. In this scenario she wouldn’t be concerned with goodness, but she also wouldn’t be actively working to support any terrorists, and chaotic neutral is as “good” as I want BBC Irene Adler to get. Anything more than that, and I worry that she would start to lose what I find so compelling about her character.

An added bonus to this scenario would be her relationship with Mycroft, who would be her superior, but in only the most technical sense. I imagine that she would cause him serious stress and frustration because she’d rarely listen to orders and would frequently vanish off of the radar—but that because she would also be his greatest and most effective asset, he’d be forced to accept her behavior. I think there would be a lot of non-sexual power struggles between them, and I would find that interesting.

I imagine she would consistently best him in a battle of wills—albeit with some specific exceptions, perhaps to do with her sentiment for Sherlock—and that he might eventually realize he _likes_ it (though again, in a nonsexual way). Like Sherlock, he’s been used to being the smartest man in the room, moreover the _country_ , and I think it would be deeply satisfying to him to find a worthy challenger in Irene Adler. What would make it even sweeter for him is that this person who had formerly been prepared to subvert all his plots and blow a hole in the national budget, now (technically) worked to advance _his_ agenda. So I think that after they’d butted heads at the beginning, they would eventually come to understand and respect the methods of the other, and enjoy a very successful (though never easy or conventional) working relationship.

I also imagine that her work and Sherlock’s investigations would occasionally overlap, and that either one might consult with the other at those times. There would be plenty of opportunity for interesting power dynamics there, too, because depending on the situation, he or she might have reason to withhold information from the other, or to provide more information than expected with suspiciously little urging (suggesting some sort of ulterior motive). And if it were the former, then the person who wanted the intelligence would certainly resort to some serious manipulation, which would be SO much fun to watch, given their dynamic! I can picture some cases merging entirely, and they would have to partner up, with John in between them in a similar role to the one he had in A Scandal in Belgravia: the ordinary person watching and reacting to these two extraordinary creatures who operate on a higher plane than the rest of us—and the comic relief. Ooh, if their cases merged Irene and Sherlock could even do some undercover work, posing as a couple (though that would NEVER HAPPEN on the show… fanfic, anyone? ;).

Okay, so I’ve talked myself into pretty much the scenario in _Ave Verum/Full Disclosures_ (sorry!), except that I’ve slightly expanded upon what her role as a consultant spy would entail. Also as you mentioned, in the show there would be no established relationship shown. But given what Benedict and Mark Gatiss have said (YAY indeed!), I would be convinced that there was sexytime going on off-screen until/unless specifically told otherwise.

That’s all Adlocker fantasy though; I think if they did bring her back it would probably be in a much narrower, fleeting capacity, where lots of things would be ambiguously suggested, but nothing would be very concrete. That would be fun too, though. There would be so much for us to analyze!


	7. "It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler...”

**Tumblr user[nowthatsanairship](https://nowthatsanairship.tumblr.com/) posted: “It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler” “It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler” “It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler” “IT WAS NOT THAT HE FELT ANY EMOTION AKIN TO LOVE FOR IRENE ADLER” #FUCK YOU ALL SHERLOCK HOLMES DOES NOT NEED A LOVE INTEREST #AND IRENE DOES NOT NEED TO BE REDUCED TO A LOVE INTEREST**

I don’t necessarily ship canon/ACD Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes, and this post isn’t about exploring prescriptives, ie how adaptations should or shouldn’t treat the characters of Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes. But I do think that this is an interesting quote to discuss in terms of what Sherlock may or may not have felt.

It’s important to note that these stories aren’t written from Sherlock Holmes’s perspective. They’re from John Watson’s point of view, and are based only on what he is able to observe of Holmes. In many of the stories this contributes to the suspense of the plot, because we only know as much as Watson, who often isn’t aware of what Holmes knows or has in the works. In the BBC adaptation of _Sherlock_ , we see this in _Hounds of Baskerville_ during the scene John is trapped in the lab, as well as in _The Reichenbach Fall_ , regarding Sherlock’s method of surviving the fall.

Since we are so limited by Watson’s point of view, we can’t really just take him at his word on this. It’s not as though Holmes directly confides in him that he hadn’t felt any emotion akin to love for Miss Adler. The above quote is _speculation_ on Watson’s part, which he presents as fact. Actually, what Holmes does say to Watson in reference to her is that “she was a lovely woman, with a face that a man might die for.” The latter part of that statement is a bit dramatic, especially coming from someone like Sherlock Holmes who typically eschews hyperbole or exaggeration. Might this minor display of unusual behavior be indicative of something even more uncharacteristic?

Also, in almost every iteration of the character Sherlock Holmes, he is quick to share his knowledge and is an exuberant show-off, but when it comes to intimate and/or personal things he is rather guarded. Throughout the years they spend together, Watson learns next to nothing about Holmes’s childhood, or family, or past acquaintances (with the exception of Victor Trevor). So it’s not as if Holmes’s private mind is exactly an open book, which Watson can easily interpret so as to make such a statement.

By that same token, even if Holmes had felt something, it’s possible that he wouldn’t recognize what it was that he was feeling. We do know that he knew that he found her attractive, that he respected her, and that he had found her a more-than-worthy intellectual match, but beyond that we—and Watson—can only theorize. Even if, hypothetically, Holmes had actually wondered at the nature of his sentiment, it’s not something I can imagine him ever discussing with Watson. He’s simply too aloof and private for that.

More than his inherently limited perspective, I think that Watson is an unreliable narrator. He has developed a very particular view of Holmes, and he is invested in that view because it defines their dynamic, and subsequently Watson’s role (both as Holmes’s professional associate, and his friend). So if Watson let himself believe that Holmes fancied Irene Adler, he would then need to revise his entire assessment of Holmes, which would be difficult and problematic for Watson for a number of reasons.

I don’t think that Watson is being _intentionally_ self-appeasing when he writes about someone else’s private feelings with such confidence, but I do find him rather presumptuous, and I don’t think he’s at all unbiased.

All of this to say that of course we don’t know that Holmes did feel emotions ‘akin to love’ for Irene Adler, but we can’t just take Watson at his word that Holmes _didn’t_ , either.

In the words of the modern-day Mrs. Hudson: “It’s Sherlock. How will we _ever_ know what goes on in that funny old head?”


	8. "I don't think so, do you?"

**Anon asked, "How do you interpret the part in A Scandal In Belgravia where Irene puts up her hand to stop John from following Sherlock in the Battersea Power Station station?"**

I don’t think Irene saying "I don't think so, do you?" is as complicated as some people are making it out to be. I interpret it to mean that Irene was well-aware of the effect that finding out that she was indeed alive would have on Sherlock, and she was essentially telling John not to follow him, so that Sherlock could process what he had just learned on his own time, and with space to do so.


	9. Canon Pressure Points

**Tumblr user[Pastische](http://irene.co.vu/) said, "My little shipper heart is singing. I was so afraid no one else would really comment on irene being in his list of pressure points. Her importance to him keeps being brought up and I couldn't be more pleased. As a fellow adlock shipper, I knew you would share my sentiments and just had to reach out."**

I _looked_ for her name when his pressure points started scrolling and internally screamed when I actually saw it. Not only is she on it, but she's #1! That combined with his mind’s representation of Moriarty pointing out that The Woman would cry if he died has me 100% convinced that in the writers’ headcanon, Sherlock and Irene are carrying on some sort of relationship off-screen. I’m sure it’s completely unconventional, but stilll… Yes, this will do very nicely for getting through the next hiatus ;)


	10. Let's clear something up

It’s a bit annoying that Irene is linked with Jim Moriarty at all (and I think she could have _so_ _effortlessly_ figured out how to play the Holmes Boys on her own). That being said, **Moriarty is not Irene’s boss**. He’s a consulting criminal, and Irene acquired him as her consultant after she procured some sensitive information that she wanted to convert into money and power for herself. When he learned that she also possessed that specific code (presumably when she was debriefing him on the sort of serious information she has at her disposal) he didn’t charge her any actual money. Instead, her fee for his services was information about the code, as a sort of quid pro quo. But everything she did was not in service of Moriarty, but a means to secure her own agenda. Moriarty was just another tool for her to use to achieve that.

Btw, not only did Irene perhaps literally save Sherlock and John’s lives at the beginning of _ASiB_ by calling Moriarty at such a critical moment (unless he theatrically staged it that way - v. possible), but her role in their survival might go deeper than that. When Moriarty realised what Irene possessed, he might have understood that it would take Sherlock Holmes to crack it, and therefore he needed to keep him alive–at least until he solved it.


	11. 'His Last Vow' deleted scene - Adlock hot take I

Regarding the [deleted scene when Magnussen visits Sherlock in the hospital](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j766vqDr070) in _His Last Vow_ we can’t know for sure that Magnussen doesn’t know _precisely_ who W is. He could be feigning ignorance to gauge Sherlock’s reaction—baiting him to reveal weakness or give away something. After all, at this point in the narrative we already know that he’s not only aware of Irene Adler but has an entire mental file on her, from her appearance as the first of Sherlock’s pressure points. And Sherlock does seem to have a noticeable reaction to both comments. When Magnussen mentions the rose he quickly flicks his eyes over, and after the “woman’s” comment he finds the strength to pull his hand out of Magnussen’s grip.


	12. 'His Last Vow' deleted scene - Adlock hot take II

I just watched _His Last Vow_ for the first time since seeing [this](http://megshezzastardis.tumblr.com/post/101499186101/screaming-cutting-this-scene-probably-had) deleted scene, and the climactic scene when Sherlock shoots Magnussen gave me Adlock feels that it hadn’t before…

Without the missing scene, only the viewers know that Magnussen is aware of Irene Adler, because we see Sherlock’s list of pressure points from Magnussen’s POV. _Sherlock_ , on the other hand, has no reason to suspect that Magnussen knows a thing about Irene, or Sherlock’s connection to her.

That all changes with the deleted scene. Now we see Magnussen taking an interest in the rose and card from Irene, and although he expresses ignorance _we_ already know he knows who she is, and I think he’s meticulous enough to understand that ‘W’ stands for ‘Woman’ since it was both her professional title and how Sherlock refers to her (info courtesy of John’s blog). And even in his medicated state I think Sherlock also sees past the act and senses the danger and implicit threat.

Alternatively Sherlock thinks that even if Magnussen doesn’t know who ‘W’ is in that moment he will soon take it upon himself to find out, because to Magnussen any personal tie is a potential vulnerability to be exploited. Either way, Irene’s status is in jeopardy and Sherlock knows it.

So at the end when he realizes that Appledore is actually a Mind Palace, and therefore he has no way to safeguard his loved ones from blackmail and/or worse, I think it’s more than John, Mary, Baby Watson and even Mycroft he wants to protect. Magnussen would constitute a particular threat to Irene for both his capacity to know things and the way he might act on that information, so I think Sherlock’s concern for The Woman’s secret and safety would be another reason he’d pull the trigger.

 **TL;DR:** that missing hospital scene from _HLV_ alerts Sherlock to the possibility that Irene Adler is on Magnussen’s radar, and so when he kills him it’s not just to protect the Watsons and Mycroft, but Irene as well.


	13. Will Irene come back?

**Anon said: "I love Adlock, but I don't think that she'll come back :( It would be far too dangerous for her, and what's the point? Also, the writers said that she's not coming back, but if we're lucky, there'll be some Mindpalace scenes with her!"**

What the writers have said is that because she was confined to the one canon story they would only bring her back if they could do her justice with a worthy narrative, which isn’t quite the same thing as saying they won’t bring her back at all. They even added something like, she was such a great character, and played so well by Lara, that it would be fun to have her return if the script could permit it. I’m gratified to hear that; _ASiB_ was so good, and I wouldn’t want the integrity and impact of the character to be lessened by having Irene herself only come back in bits and fritters like an afterthought.

Still, I have to wonder what all these references to her signify. Are they devices to show that Sherlock is starting to let himself care for a whole variety of people and in a variety of ways, or is it a way to keep the character in the present rather than relegated to the past because she’s coming back? Obviously I don’t know, but I hope (with caution, although according to the writers it would mean she had a quality storyline) for the latter.


	14. His 'The Sign of Three' vision of Irene represents a memory :)

**Anon said, "Since basically the writers, actors, the show runners, and even Benedict himself have confirmed that Sherlock and Irene have been intimate, that makes watching The Sign of Three cameo so much more emotional. I know a lot of us assumed it may have been imagination or maybe a memory, but if Benedict is playing the character that way (which we all know now), I interpret that scene as a memory. Like he's seen Irene with that expression, he's felt her touch his face, and that swells my heart."**

I totally agree with you, Anon! And I think there’s a fair number of other Adlockers who do as well.

Since first watching that scene Irene’s demeanor struck me as so different from how we see her in _ASiB_ that I figured it had to be memory. Because why else would Sherlock – ever concerned with accuracy and correct detail – opt to think of her with such a calm and loving expression, doing something so tender as stroking his face? The way _he_ reacts to her, too, makes it seem like he’s being confronted with a (bittersweet) memory rather than something he’s just making up. Both things suggest that this was something Sherlock had seen first-hand, which is one reason that each time I watch it I feel The Feels anew.

And to further ramp up those feels, my headcanon is that this is a memory of Irene during their farewell when they part ways after Karachi, and it’s either the very last time he’s seen her (making it all the more bittersweet and indelible), or at least the last time he’d seen her before a long separation (what I’d prefer to believe.)


	15. "Fond reminiscing..."

Further to [this](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27274003/chapters/66635758), I headcanon that this scene:

is Sherlock recalling/thinking about exactly this interaction (among other things):

*Feels for dayyys*

And here’s that quote from Benedict as a bonus: “Look at the way I play that after the moment of fond reminiscing of one night in Islamabad or whatever may or may not have happened after I rescued her from death..." [[Source](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/benedict-cumberbatch-on-sherlock-series-3-the-rooftop-fall-irene-adler-elementary-star-trek-into/)]

[Lpulverized](https://lpulverized.tumblr.com/post/103274659679/francesca-wayland-further-to-this-i-headcanon) said: "I think she does caress his lips there for a brief second…I also love how gentle her expression looks and the way it changes during the short scene"

I think she does too (*internal screaming*). And yeah her eyes look a thousand miles deep by the end… I wish we could’ve seen the shared eye contact there, I’m sure it was epic.


	16. My view of Sherlock's sexuality I

**Tumblr user[soyeahso](http://soyeahso.tumblr.com/post/117783061800) said: The thing I will never understand is why people twist themselves into knots trying to prove that Sherlock was never attracted to Irene Adler? To the point of calling the actor that plays Sherlock a liar for his own headcanon? Like, who Sherlock has had sex with shouldn’t have any bearing on who you ship him with. It also actually doesn’t say anything definitive about the character’s sexuality. So why is it such a big deal? I mean, I know why I just wish people would flat out say it instead of dancing around it.**

I don’t get why there is such a binary view. It seems that according to a lot of people either Sherlock is 100% gay, or they think BC is insinuating he is 100% straight (judging by the many accusations of homophobia I’ve seen directed towards BC in the past few days).

I’m hesitant to put strict labels on Sherlock but my version of him sure as hell isn’t conventionally straight, sexually and especially romantically. Yes in my headcanon he had an affair with a woman, but that doesn’t erase his identity, just as it doesn’t erase hers.

Having someone not have a 100% preference for the same sex doesn’t impugn the ‘purity’ of an m/m ship and I just don’t understand the logic behind how it could.

PS while I’m at it I also want to re-emphasize that Sherlock saying in Moffat’s version “I hope you don’t think this means I’m interested in you” (after he’s apparently gruesomely murdered a number of people to prevent Irene’s execution) is a clear parallel to what Irene said in Mycroft’s study, right before it was revealed that she actually did. The implications there are pretty clear, I think, and for all the struggle meta a certain section of this fandom reads it’s funny to me that such an obvious parallel goes ignored–especially since ASiB is constructed of so many deliberate parallels between the two characters like that.


	17. My view of Sherlock's sexuality II

**Anon asked, "So what do you think his identity is?"**

Again I am hesitant to put strict labels on it, and I do think that he has subverted a lot of his sexual impulses into work so that even if he is attracted to someone he’s become so adept at suppressing it that he doesn’t permit it to make an impression. He’s not asexual, but he is celibate. I think he experiences attraction to both sexes, but he doesn’t act upon it because he has a strict hierarchy of priorities, and sex is at the bottom of that list, as well as a distraction (at best) and threat (at worst) to the items at the top.

In terms of romantic attraction I feel that he is demi- and bi-romantic but with a stronger preference for the same sex, with a few exceptions. I also feel that once he does connect with someone in an emotionally-intimate way, he feels very strongly about that bond and is very protective of it. I guess in these two ways I might be projecting; I feel like he and I are very similar, so I appreciate seeing someone I feel is representational in that way.

I think that with Irene both she and Sherlock acted outside their normal preferences and/or practices to get to the point of an affair because for both of them their intellectual connection and personal excitement of having found someone so similar served as a Trojan Horse of sorts. It allowed his attraction to her to grow and then manifest, whereas if they hadn’t shared emotional and cerebral connections it would’ve been the mere blip on his radar that his other attractions have been.


	18. Sherlock's reaction to cracking Irene's passcode

**Anon said, "Ok, so in ASiB, there were several moments in which Sherlock retaliated against foes and such. For example, when Ms. Hudson was hit by the CIA, Sherlock hit back. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, ehh? So, when Sherlock sealed Irene's fate by punching in the passcode, he was essentially making her realize that this event would would lead to her supposed death yes? He made her feel as though she was dying, as she did when he found out about her tactics. Extra evidence of his sentiment?!?!"**

I definitely think he was acting out of anger and hurt in that moment, which exacerbated his cruelty. Not only did she manage to best him, but she did so by exploiting what he perceives as a serious character flaw and weakness (sentiment). Just as an aside, I headcanon that that would’ve resonated with times when he was young, in school, when he had thought he had someone’s friendship, only to find out they were using him in some way or another. Even worse, it all happened right in front of his brother whom I think Sherlock was still aspiring to be at this point in his life. So I think his humiliation and mortification of “allowing” himself to be fooled, _and_ in such a way, would’ve further added to his need to mete out such harsh punishment.

But I think that you’re right and that the initial underlying emotion is shocked hurt that she had only been using him, as seen here:

_“Not you, Junior, you’re done now.”_

Still, I think he takes this revelation in an inward and a sort of chastened way, particularly since I feel like it’s not the first time this type of situation has happened, albeit on a different scale. In his initial perception of the situation, he feels that he is entirely at fault.

BUT when he realizes that she genuinely does have feelings for him (but has sabotaged them in a way that seemed beyond repair) I feel like _that’s_ when the cruelty really comes out, although it’s just as much about his fury towards himself as it is about his fury towards her. 

Because _this_ realization changes the dynamic from her having decidedly played him to them being in the parallel situations of sentiment having caused a loss of some sort. This means that he can and does now project onto her all his own feelings on sentiment and its cost… He can punish her for the folly of it in a more direct, tangible (though probably equal in Sherlock’s mind, in that moment of hurt, anger, and mortification) way than what he’s experiencing himself.

I think when all the emotions of that night cool he comes to understand that he was projecting a lot onto her, and that she doesn’t quite deserve the savage consequences that his hurt and anger were demanding at the time.

I also think that the idea that she – someone so fascinating and alluring to him – did actually have feelings for him comes to mean a great deal more as those initial feelings fade, and he realizes that he has to rectify his emotion-based response of that night. Ultimately it’s Irene’s exceptional nature _and_ her sentiment that precipitate her exfiltration.


	19. ""I hope we never really find out what happened in Karachi."

**Anon said, "I hope we never really find out what happened in Karachi. It feels too personal, too sweet and too vulnerable a moment for these two cold geniuses we mere mortals are not worthy to hear of."**

I could not agree more, anon. Imagining but never seeing such characters in that sort of intimate situation* feels far more appropriate in the context of this show. Anything else would seem like almost an invasion of privacy, as weird as that sounds! Besides, the various fanon that has developed around that scene is so much richer and more intriguing than anything that could be fixed into canon, and if it ever were it would be bound to seriously disappoint or even anger sections of the viewership in some way or another. 

But I think that there’s a reason some people interpreted it as a dream sequence; it’s intentionally vague, trope-y, and epic. I don’t think that TPTB will undermine that by making anything definitive. Also I think they really like and enjoy playing with the idea that no one really knows what the relationship between Irene and Sherlock is, and they wouldn’t want to define that either. So I think we’re safe!

(*Whether sex is involved or not, risking your life and possibly taking lives for another - and _so_ violently, jeez - is pretty intense.) 


	20. Even at the most urgent and inopportune of times Sherlock imagines Irene Adler naked

**Anon said, "The fact that people can sit through 'A Scandal in Belgravia' and the cameo in 'the Sign of Three' and still convince themselves that Sherlock hates Irene says a lot about the power of the human ability of denial."**

I came across a TJLC meta the other day that brought up the cameo from TSoT, and it didn’t even _consider_ that Sherlock’s words “Get out” could be taken in any other way than the most basic face-value meaning, which the writer thought ‘proved’ Sherlock’s hatred of Irene. They presented this as if they were stating some simple and very obvious fact, like “this is straight from the horse’s mouth, end of debate.” The concept that Sherlock said “Get out” because he was in the middle of an important breakthrough and Irene’s naked, intimate presence was a distraction in that moment did not seem to occur. No, it was evidence that he hates her (and loves John - it’s always the two things linked together in these metas). 

Before clicking out I just thought, did you not catch the part where Sherlock travelled across the world and not only risked his life but possibly (probably) killed people in a really violent and gruesome way for her? Are you just going to pretend that that never happened or decide that it was a dream sequence since in no world would anyone do that for someone they hated? E _specially_ not when there wouldn’t be any compensating recognition for a show-off like Sherlock in such a scenario. One can draw a number of conclusions about why Sherlock saved Irene (I’ve incorporated entire metas about it into my fanfics!), but in none of them does any hatred for her fit.

…Uh, not to mention that it’s _Sherlock’s_ mind that conjures up the naked figure of Irene Adler in the first place - it’s not like it’s the actual person barging in on his deduction process, lol. 

Even at the most urgent and inopportune of times Sherlock imagines Irene Adler naked and tenderly touching his face, and no matter how people choose to construe his subsequent words, _that_ is canon.


	21. Sherlock's reaction to learning that Irene Adler was alive

**Anon said, "People don't talk about the scene showing Sherlock realising that Irene isn't dead, just after her conversation with John yet I think it's important. I mean look at Sherlock's face, it expresses the exact confusion she puts him in. He's lost in a flow of emotions and I daresay sentiment knowing she's not dead. We can already see how she matters to him, even if at the moment it's not exactly romantic perhaps. Well that's my point of view, I was wondering, what's yours?"**

For reference, here is the music and a gif of that moment:

I really love this short but high-impact scene, so thanks for bringing it up, and I think you have a great take on it.

There are people who interpret the line that Irene delivers later, “I knew _you’d_ keep my secret,” as an indication that Sherlock knew all along that she was alive, but I think he really did believe that it was her body on that slab.* Irene Adler is one of the few people who fooled Holmes in ACD canon and tricking him about her death in this version would parallel that, plus him knowing that it was a ruse would significantly lessen the dramatic trajectory of the episode, and the character development Sherlock undergoes. But most of all I’m convinced he believed it because of the feelings we see on display here.

Everything in this brief scene, from its technical elements to BC’s performance, conveys that this is a moment of personal upheaval for Sherlock.

Regarding the technical, the shot is up-close and intimate, suggesting that Sherlock’s thoughts are turned inward and are of a personal and overwhelming nature, the streets around him appear blurry and dream-like, in muted colors, to imply that in his state he’s disconnected from and unaware of his surroundings, and the almost stopmotion-like cinematography illustrates his disjointed frame of mind.

This is a program that usually shows us Sherlock’s perspectives in hyper-detailed, high-definition closeups, but in addition to the blurriness of the shot, we are now seeing a stylized perspective shot from _outside of_ himself rather than from his POV, which is another visual representation of how he’s feeling. This scene is unlike any other we’ve had in the series, with the exception perhaps of the drunk deduction scene in _TSoT_. Although in that scene Sherlock is out of sorts due to something external (excessive alcohol intake) rather than internal (emotional upheaval), and it’s played for humor rather than drama, several similar devices are used to drive home the fact that Sherlock is impaired and not himself.

Speaking of drama, the score really accentuates the emotions in this scene. The melody is the elegy Sherlock composed for Irene, but it’s no longer simple or melancholy; instead it’s swelling and orchestral to evoke the onslaught of feelings and shock that Sherlock is experiencing. However to me it still retains some of its bittersweetness, which suggests that these emotions are mixed, and some of them might even conflict.

It’s in BC performance that we really _see_ this. 

(As an aside, I want to mention that since Sherlock is alone we can assume that everything portrayed is organic and genuine rather than being in service of some ulterior motive, _ipso facto_ Sherlock was completely taken unawares by Irene’s reveal.)

Besides the basic shock and gratification that she’s alive, I think Sherlock displays a combination of disbelief that she managed to deceive him on such a grand scale, astonishment - and perhaps a bit of admiration - at the feat, some mortification that he was duped by the very person he’d wanted to impress, and subsequent dismay at feeling that way. But the prevailing impression I get is that he’s utterly overwhelmed, confused (as you rightly said), and unnerved by the magnitude of the emotional reaction in itself; it’s all so much to process that he’s unable to suppress or compartmentalize anything, as he is usually able to do. In this way Irene gets the best of him yet again. 

So whether or not you interpret their relationship as platonic, romantic, sexual, or some combination thereof, the significance of ‘The Woman’ to Sherlock cannot (or at least _should_ not) be denied; his reaction in this scene to learning that she’s alive shows us that yet again.

* To me the ‘secret’ Irene refers to is the fact that Sherlock is the person to whom she’d left her phone upon her ‘death’. She knew that he understood how much it meant to and symbolized for her, and that he would see her choice to bequeath it to him as a meaningful gesture. Being the ever-so-perceptive person she is she’d have also understood that she could trust him to keep it private; he’d want to be discreet regarding anything that seemed like it was of a personal or sentimental nature, and he’d also ensure that her killers never got ahold of the secrets she’d died for.

And she was right to have that faith in him because besides John, he doesn’t tell. No one else who was connected to the original case and therefore knew about the phone’s significance ever knows that it was with Sherlock; Mycroft only learns about it when Irene tells him in the final confrontation scene. Molly did see Sherlock x-raying the phone in the lab, but she was ‘safe’ because she hadn’t been involved in that case, and therefore she was unaware of the phone’s personal and case-related significance (though she did infer the former, albeit in the wrong way).


	22. "It's the not end of the world, it's Mrs. Hudson"

**Tumblr user[themissadventurer](https://themissadventurer.tumblr.com/) said: "So I saw that you're on a roll lately with asks, and I wanted to throw my own your way: how do you interpret that exchange between Sherlock and Irene at the end of the fireplace scene? Namely the comment "It's the not end of the world; it's Mrs. Hudson"? Maybe I'm reading too much into a joke, but I always thought that it could mean more than "Yes, don't worry, it's just my ditzy landlady," such as, "It's not the end of the world A.K.A. I'LL HAVE DINNER WITH YOU SOME OTHER TIME." Thoughts?"**

Why thank you! So here’s that exchange:

And yeah, I absolutely agree. Irene says it’s “too late” but then Sherlock essentially contradicts her, implying that since it’s _not_ the end of the world there’s still that potential for them to have dinner (and by now he gets exactly what that’s code for). His little half-smile as he looks into her eyes after he speaks makes his implication pretty clear. 

He could have just let the matter drop after she said it was too late—it would’ve been a clear and easy ‘out’ for him if he were uninterested. Instead he finally starts to play along, opening up to her a bit with some dry humor, and taking the initiative to continue their intimate banter. It’s the first sign of his reciprocated interest in her proposition, and then they’re interrupted (argh)!

This is _also_ the first time Sherlock has a ‘retort’ of sorts for her after the many, many texts he’s left go un-replied. He’s engaging with her on her terms at last, which is significant given how I interpret his reasons for ignoring all her texts, which are of that same flirtatious nature.

Some people think it’s just a sign that Sherlock isn’t interested… but as far as I’m concerned: no. It’s the opposite, in fact.

As John tells Irene, Sherlock would outlive God trying getting the last word, and so something about Irene is canonically different, and possibly even special. My take on it is that Sherlock sensed from the beginning that there was something between him and Irene – an understanding, an attraction, a potential for something, but definitely a _frisson_ of some sort – and I think he was balking at it because he’s set up his current identity to be A Mind, impervious to the baser things that might distract from that (be it drugs, sex, or anything else). There’s no room in his life as Consulting Detective for any _frissons_. So whatever it was it would’ve felt a bit dangerous; at its bare minimum it was an unknown quantity and something potentially distracting.

But I think Sherlock grasped fairly early on what Irene was implying by her texts, and that’s when his general caution shifted into something more personal. At that point I think he felt really unequipped and unready to take that on and re-evaluate the way he thought of himself, and I do think that some of his own admiration for Irene made him feel even more daunted. This wasn’t the usual situation where he could swan in and bowl someone over with his impressive presence and intellect; Irene Adler could ‘see’ him in ways that most people couldn’t and I think that was a bit terrifying for him. So instead he ignored the texts, but it’s important to note that he _didn’t_ delete them or change her ringtone. He wasn’t rejecting her overtures out-of-hand, he was (a) feeling unsure of _how_ he could possibly respond (b) slowly processing how he felt about them and what repercussions there might be in his life for engaging with her in that way.

So that single line in the above gif is _also_ really meaningful because it’s Sherlock finally coming to terms with both his own sentiments and how they can be incorporated into his long-standing perception of himself, and deciding that perhaps he can step up to engage with Irene in that way—or at least he can entertain the notion.

This is major character development, and is in keeping with the themes of series 2, in which Sherlock begins to realize that he’s not alone, that he has friends, that life doesn’t have to be a binary of ‘work’ set up in opposition with anything ‘personal’, and that’s it’s possible to accommodate both elements without compromising the former. And I think that whether he and Irene ever had a conventional sort of affair off-screen, she did help to set that character development ball into motion.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m dying of curiosity to know how that scene might have continued, but I doubt even the writers have any concrete ideas.

Of course what Sherlock doesn’t know and Irene does – which makes it ironic and bittersweet in subsequent viewings – is that it _is_ too late, and it _is_ the ‘end of the world’ in a way, since whatever is developing between them is about to be destroyed. Mrs Hudson is bringing up the MOD men, and it’s the start of a chain of events that will culminate with the revelation that Irene was using him and has betrayed his trust, which as a “bonus” will humiliate him in the process.

I usually meta through my fic and at one point in [_Sui Generis_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/653578?view_full_work=true) I have her thinking back on the fireplace scene:

> “Irene wanted to tell him now that in that moment she had hoped he would kiss her, regardless of how extraneous it was to her grand plan—regardless of how she’d already gleaned everything she’d needed from him and had no reason in the world to still be at his flat, and every reason to have moved on to the next part of her strategy instead. […] She had already recognised that Sherlock was special, both in general and to her in particular, but it wasn’t until that moment that she had felt any flicker of doubt about the plan that would ensure her so much wealth and security. She hadn’t discerned much of a personal cost until she’d realised the full extent of her feelings and attraction for Sherlock, and had understood what seeing the plan through meant losing—for both of them.” [[Source](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=denied%3Adenied%3A%255BChapter%252020%2520http%3A%2F%2Farchiveofourown.org%2Fworks%2F653578%2Fchapters%2F4198746%255D&t=NTk3YTIyMGJmM2QzOWRkYTY5YWM3YTdkM2E3ZTk4MzYyOGE3ZTA1MSxXNDAxRlE4dw%3D%3D&b=t%3AcaMB_ZLnoIXpaAIblpVgzg&p=https%3A%2F%2Ffrancesca-wayland.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F131969066669%2Fso-i-saw-that-youre-on-a-roll-lately-with-asks&m=0&ts=1604024410)]

Sooo when Irene sighs and murmurs, “Too late…” I’m convinced that besides referring to Mrs Hudon’s arrival she’s telling _herself_ that it’s too late.

I think she means this in two ways:

> 1\. She has realized too late how real her feelings for Sherlock actually are. She had probably ignored them and not taken them seriously at first, dismissing his appeal to her as being like that of a shiny new toy. I certainly can’t imagine her reassessing her entire plan to accommodate what she thought was just a meaningless infatuation.

But then this moment happens:

And this:

Aaand this (like _why_ would she still be there other than to spend that last bit of time with him that she can before everything between them goes to hell):

But even moreso I think by “too late” she means:

> 2\. She’s way too deep into her scheme to backtrack for the sake of exploring the potential between the two of them. It had never occurred to her to include something like _sentiment_ in all her calculations and risk assessments and cost/benefit analyses when formulating her plan, but now everything has been set in motion and the deal with the devil (Moriarty) has been made. The opportunity to change her mind and back out has _long_ since passed.

When we see Irene again she’s composed and looks immaculate, but her dress, the return of her ‘evil’ hair, her flawless makeup – it’s all battle armor of a different sort as she sees her plan to its end. As a character Irene Adler seems like the more exposed or uncertain she feels, the more she’d compensate by looking flawless and infallible on the outside so no one can detect any vulnerabilities. After all, she is still ostensibly ‘winning’ at the start of the final confrontation scene; she needs to carry herself accordingly so that no one questions that her triumph is absolute.

She manages to maintain her poise and self-assurance as long as she’s interacting with Mycroft, but we see just how thin the façade is and how quickly she loses her equanimity the moment Sherlock becomes involved.

She says the ‘right’ thing here:

But the way her voice catches as well as the stiffness in her posture and her face betray what she’s really feeling, and as we all know it just goes south from there… :(

I’ve written a bit of meta on why Sherlock acts the way he does in that scene, but I think part of his hurt and anger comes from the fact that he was starting to _finally_ let himself consider the idea of exploring the potential between them (which I think is exactly what we’re seeing in the moment you highlight). Then just when he lowers his guard with her he discovers that she’s been exploiting his weaknesses for her own gain from the beginning. So when he’s saying “Sentiment is a chemical defect found on the losing side” he’s directing that just as much towards himself as he is towards her–if not more. I elaborate on Sherlock’s reaction in that scene [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27274003/chapters/66636565) and [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27274003/chapters/66634639) (starting in the 9th paragraph).

Sorry, your ask was so light-hearted and fun, and then I went on a rambling tangent and ended up giving myself angsty feels. Thanks for your question though!


	23. "1895"

Out of context Sherlock’s face when his attempt to unlock Irene’s phone fails is hilarious. But I think that the frustration he’s exhibiting is rooted in sadness, which actually makes this moment pretty poignant. 

As I’ve mentioned before I’m certain that Sherlock believes Irene is dead during this time, and in this scene he’s just been playing her composition, presumably thinking about her and maybe even contemplating the repercussions of her loss. But whatever the intangible effects she’s had on him by this point the only _actual_ link he has left to Irene Adler is her phone.I think his main motives for cracking it are so that he can (1) come to better know and understand her – an opportunity he didn’t take when she was alive, and (2) use the phone as a way to feel close to her in moments when he’s more affected by her death, such as how he is in this scene. After all, the phone was her most valuable possession – she even killed someone over it – and it contained information on all of her most secret and critical affairs. It represents her mind and audacious personality in all of the data it contains, but as a parallel to the phone in _ASiP_ , it’s also Irene’s heart.

So when Sherlock thinks he might have _finally_ found a way to access the remaining embodiment of The Woman’s mind and heart, and in a way be able to spend time with and get to know her (even posthumously), it’s not just petty triumph at cracking a puzzle that we see at first. Aside from thinking he’ll finally get at the contents of the phone, there’s also some pleasure in cracking the code itself. It means that he knows her well enough to understand how her mind works, and that he can be as clever as she was.

Nor is it petty disappointment when he gets it wrong. It means that he _doesn’t_ know her as well as he’d thought and perhaps _isn’t_ clever enough to get her code, but more than that, in a sense it’s him experiencing her loss all over again. He wants access to the only real thing left of The Woman he has, but he keeps getting locked out.


	24. Tea headcanon

**When I asked other Adlockers for their headcanons,[adler-holmes](http://adler-holmes.tumblr.com/) said: "TEA FOR COMFORT!!! when sherlock notices that irene is uneasy when she’s at 221b or when she’s feeling a bit under the weather, he puts the kettle on and puts a cup of tea beside her and it’s just like his first step to comforting her (hugs optional)"**

****

Thank you for this _awesome_ headcanon, and I feel like in this context this would be totally in-character:

In England making tea for someone is deeply ingrained as shorthand for concern and support, so making it for Irene would allow Sherlock to express his care for her in a subtle, non-demonstrative way. Also, it’s something people do for acquaintances and loved ones alike, so doing it for her wouldn’t make too much of a ‘statement.’

Still, the mere fact that Sherlock would be willing to take it upon himself to perform an act of compassion and care – and going back further, would have noticed that she’s unwell _and_ is willing to let her know he noticed, and is taking steps to help her recover – would be a significant statement in its own right.

This is all in keeping with how I imagine their off-screen, sustained (though intermittent) relationship. Things that would be so minor and insignificant as to become meaningless with other couples are the language with which Sherlock and Irene express themselves to one another. With them the smallest gestures and most understated words convey the greatest things, and because they understand each other these shorthands are as demonstrative as ‘I love you’s’ and ‘I’d die without you’ are for other people.


	25. Irene appearing naked in Sherlock's mind palace in TSoT

**Tumblr user[sobeautifullyobsessed](https://sobeautifullyobsessed.tumblr.com/) asked: "I'm curious; how do you feel about Irene appearing naked in Sherlock's mind palace in TSoT? Although that's the image he first had of her, I'd have preferred to see her in his Belstaff, as she wore when she won the first round of their ongoing match. I've always felt the nudity was for shock value & perhaps Moffitiss not valuing her at her true worth."**

I get where you and others are coming from but personally that depiction of her doesn’t bother me, since I interpret the Mind Palace avatar of Irene as an amalgamation of the first and – in my headcanon – last times Sherlock saw her.  
  
I don’t view her nudity in _ASiB_ as inherently sexual, and I don’t think Sherlock takes it that way either. Instead it revealed and represents her cunning, her understanding of Sherlock’s process, and her willingness to go to audacious measures to ‘win.’ Sherlock would’ve come to be aware of all that, and for him that first confrontation would be inextricably linked to how he sees her, since those are all key elements to her personality. Besides that, as the first time he saw her in the flesh (heh) it certainly would’ve made a striking (heheh) impression.  
  
As for her caressing his face, it’s one of my favorite headcanons that that really happened too, and that it was the final interaction between them after Karachi (or whenever it was they last saw one another).

So for me Sherlock’s perception of Irene is a balance between ‘The Woman Who Beat Him’ and pure sentiment, and I’m pretty content with it.

Her appearance in and of itself is also debatable, i.e. ought she have been shown as a being distraction, or should she have used her formidable intellect to help him with the case?

I’m fine with that too because the thing is, she was/is _always_ an adversary of sorts for Sherlock – whether she’s a literal one, or one in terms of forcing Sherlock to deal with his issues regarding personal attachment. So I think that her distracting him and pulling focus to her (and dominating that focus, if only for a moment) is also fitting – plus it does please me a bit that even in his own Mind Palace he can’t control her ;)


	26. MindPalace!Irene headcanon

An Adlock headcanon:

Sherlock only sends away MindPalace!Irene when he’s busy with work. When he’s alone and between cases he welcomes her presence and will even hold entire conversations with her.

The thing is, sometimes he’ll accidentally 'continue' these conversations in real life with the actual Irene Adler, and when it first happened it created a pretty mortifying situation for him. He tried out every one of his evasion tactics to get out of telling her about MindPalace!Irene, but she finally got the truth out of him. Now whenever Sherlock absent-mindedly does it Irene just smirks and uses context clues to play along until he realizes what’s happened, then she just sits back and enjoys his flustered, endearing embarrassment. 

They both know it’s as good as an admission that she’s been extensively on his mind.


	27. ""Why do you think Irene wasn't in the special?"

**Tumblr user[belaphabet](https://belaphabet.tumblr.com/) asked: "Why do you think Irene wasn't in the special? I mean I know they mentioned her in the watch but why wasn't she with all the other women?" **

**Tumblr user[finalproblem](https://finalproblem.tumblr.com/post/137581329935/why-do-you-think-irene-wasnt-in-the-special-i) answered:**

**I think there’s lots and lots of potential reasons they wouldn’t have used her in the special, such as wanting to save the character for something in Series 4, having just done a cameo with her two episodes ago, actress unavailability, not wanting to cram her in when they’d already barely left time for the characters they did include (sorry, Janine). Almost anything’s possible for the reason, production-wise.**

**If you want a few canon-based reasons just for the heck of it, though…**

**1) They never fully clarified how much of the Victorian stuff was reverted back to the timeline/events of the original stories, but canon Irene was already dead by 1895. And even if they changed events like in the modern version to have John only _think_ she’s dead when Sherlock knows otherwise, having John see an alive Irene and react to that in a dream sequence seems like kind of a waste of a scene as well as a distraction from what was actually (well, I say “actually”…) going on.**

**2) Also, canon Irene had left the country forever before she died. Last we saw modern Irene, she was also out of the country. And sure, it’s Sherlock’s dream, anyone can be anywhere, but maybe there’s a point where it’s not worth confusing the issue or inviting theories (”Irene’s secretly back in London and Sherlock knows it!” etc.) that don’t match what the writers want to do with the show in the long run. (And they did make a point of having Sherlock say he doesn’t know where Irene is now in TSoT.)**

**3) Irene’s canon story, _[A Scandal in Belgravia](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fsherlock-holm.es%2Fstories%2Fhtml%2Fscan.html&t=NDUyNTI0OGJmM2MzMWZkMzU4YWIxOGU5Mzk1MmQwNWFlYWI3ZmI5OSw3NkxNbDRCOA%3D%3D&b=t%3AcaMB_ZLnoIXpaAIblpVgzg&p=https%3A%2F%2Ffrancesca-wayland.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F142651426458%2Fwhy-do-you-think-irene-wasnt-in-the-special-i&m=0&ts=1604021033)_ , was very much about how she reacted to a man who treated her badly. Her response was to hold blackmail material to protect herself long enough to run off with a better guy. Granted, her grievance may not have been as extreme as Emelia Ricoletti’s or Lady Carmichael’s (then again, her ex was a king, so that’s got its own special set of power dynamics), but having Irene go from her canon reaction to murder may have felt like too big a step.**

**No matter why they didn’t use Irene this time, though, I would not be shocked if she came back (either played by Lara Pulver or just for an off-screen but significant part such as sending a message) for at least a moment in Series 4. They were hinting about it in several ways during Series 3.**

My addition:

This is great! I’d also like to elaborate more on point 4… 

In part, the sequence in the crypt is the manifestation of Sherlock’s reflections on/realizations of how he treats the women in his life, and I think that Irene is absent because Sherlock doesn’t think he’s transgressed against her in the way he has with other women. Unlike how he may have mistreated Mrs. Hudson, Molly, and Janine, he perhaps doesn’t feel he’s committed grievances bad enough against Irene for her to appear in this scene. If he had left her to her fate after breaking her code that might’ve been one thing, but he didn’t - he redeemed himself with her her by intervening in her execution. So I think that’s another reason why she doesn’t appear. 


	28. "The late Irene Adler"

I just saw [this](http://renniejoy.tumblr.com/post/144937943930/moffat-didnt-kill-irene-even-though-she-was-the) post, which mentions how in _BBC Sherlock_ Irene wasn’t killed off despite being “the late Irene Adler” in canon, and it reminded me of an interesting bit of literary analysis I once read. 

It argues that ACD isn’t implying that Irene is dead, but is making reference to the change in her name and marital status. She has since married, and she is "the late Irene Adler" because by the time John Watson recounts the story, she’s Irene _Norton_. It’s a distinction between the single and potentially disreputable woman she had been during the case, and the married woman she has become.

What gives this reading more credibility for me is that according to the article ACD uses the same phrasing at another point in his writing, in which ‘the late [woman’s name]’ is in explicit reference to a woman’s former, maiden name. Also this was apparently a more common usage of the term at the time, almost interchangeable with ‘née.’

Personally I find this reading much more consistent with the themes of _A Scandal in Bohemia_. In the story ACD touches on the concept of female respectability (making relatively progressive statements, for his time) and distinguishing between her unmarried/married statuswould serve to emphasize the differing ways society viewed an unmarried courtesan vs a woman who’s made a respectable match. But also, in Victorian times Irene’s marriage and departure from Europe with her new husband would’ve been seen as a happy ending and a natural conclusion to her redemption arc; having her then be suddenly, inexplicably, dead has always seemed odd and incongruous to me.

I can’t track down the article now, but if this sound familiar to anyone hit me up with a link!


	29. Mycroft's precarious position

**Tumblr user[lady-anthea](https://lady-anthea.tumblr.com/) asked "I don't think Sherlock said anything at all after being interrupted - probably he just looked at her with something akin to curiosity, both because of what could've happened if they hadn't been interrupted and what would occur after he returned (would she still be there?). I think she would've looked back at him calm and collected - even in spite of what Sherlock’s departure was about – without a hint of the disappointment she displayed at the interruption. Though this made me wonder another thing: I suppose the MOD man was, at least to some degree, aware of why he was picking Sherlock up – therefore aware of Irene’s role in all of it. Then, why wasn’t Irene also taken? Why was she allowed to get to Mycroft in her own terms?"**

It’s debatable whether Mycroft even knew that Irene had returned ‘from the dead’ until the agent informed him of her presence in Sherlock’s flat. However, even if he had put the pieces together and used inductive reasoning to realize that the very fact that Moriarty discovered the plan meant, ipso facto, that she was alive and complicit - consider his precarious position.

I doubt that Mycroft would’ve had a random agent arrest Irene Adler due to the extreme delicacy of the situation. If she were brought in it would have to be a carefully choreographed affair in order to not provoke her into causing even more damage with whatever she had on her phone. And then of course there’s the fact that the security leak was caused by his own little brother, as Irene points out. I think he’d want to contain everything as much as possible, and so he wouldn’t delegate something like her arrest. Not even he attempted anything like an arrest until after Sherlock broke her code (but then not even then - apparently he wasn’t feeling merciful so he left her to fend for herself).


	30. Wow, Sherlock...

So you know how we’re always talking about how one thing we love about A Scandal in Belgravia is that even years on we’re still discovering new little things about it? Well that just happened again for me, and the “little thing” I noticed is that Sherlock blatantly checking out Irene as she is looking right at him is CANON. See this? It was already such an iconic Adlock moment because of the way they’re looking at each other after their amazing match of wits and mutual compliments, but it’s even better than we thought. Right before John’s outburst of “Hamish!” they’re locking gazes, in mutual admiration and interest. Here’s Sherlock:

Then John interrupts them, and the camera moves to him for a few seconds. But when the camera goes back to Sherlock, where are his eyes now??

In those few seconds we looked away, they’ve clearly traveled downward, well below the collarbone… in full view of Irene. That’s pretty brazen, and I’m _so here for it._

Here’s that moment, with John’s outburst taken out:

Maybe that’s yet another reason Irene looks like this when John interrupts them, lol:

Bonus:

More lip-gazing evidence!! This time we’re back to Irene, but the twist is that it’s Sherlock _imagining_ Irene :D


End file.
